The present disclosure relates to systems, components, and methodologies for treating fabrics with treating chemistries. Conventional laundry appliances treat fabrics with various types of treating chemistries, including detergents, bleaches, and fabric softeners. These conventional laundry appliances apply the treating chemistries onto portions of the fabric, either in concentrated form or diluted with other liquids as part of a wash liquor.
By way of example, some conventional laundry appliances may dispense the treating chemistries into the laundry appliance's drum or basket where the chemistries contact fabric, some may dispense the treating chemistry between the laundry appliance's tub and drum or basket such that the treating chemistry flows through perforations in the drum or basket to contact fabric, and some may activate the laundry appliance's pump system to recirculate wash liquor containing treating chemistries onto fabrics disposed within the drum or basket. These conventional laundry appliances may include dispenser drawers or dispenser trays having compartments for storing the treating chemistries. These drawers and trays may include siphons or similar structures that draw treating chemistries from the compartments and allow the treating chemistries to drop or flow to the desired location (e.g., within the tub, drum, or basket), such that they ultimately contact the fabric.
A disadvantage of conventional laundry appliances is that the treating chemistries are not uniformly distributed across the surface of the fabrics or within the internal structures of the fabrics. This can be due in part to the nature of the treating chemistries themselves, whose fluidic structures may contain large amalgamations or vesicles that, when applied to fabrics, result in splotchy and uneven distribution. In addition, certain fabric enhancers may be positively charged while cotton and similar fabrics may be negatively charged, making uniform distribution of the chemistry difficult. These problems are exacerbated by limitations of conventional wash cycles and dispensation methodologies. The manner by which a wash cycle is programmed, including the selection, timing, and sequence of operations used for a wash cycle, can have a significant impact on the uniformity of distribution of treating chemistries. Additionally, the manner by which treating chemistries are dispensed during the course of a wash cycle can have a significant impact on uniformity. Yet conventional laundry appliances do not configure wash cycles in a manner that promotes sufficient uniformity of distribution, and do not perform dispensing operations during wash cycles in a manner that optimizes uniformity.
Lack of uniformity inhibits the performance of many fabric enhancers—for example, poorly distributed detergents or bleaches will not clean or whiten fabrics as well they would if they were uniformly distributed. Concentrated distribution of chemistry can damage garments if not diluted properly or induce adverse chemical reactions when heated in the dryer. Moreover, lack of distribution uniformity limits the types of treating chemistries that laundry appliances can use. Certain fabric enhancers could theoretically provide tremendous consumer benefit, but require substantial uniformity of distribution if they are to be effective. Unless laundry appliances can provide the required uniformity, these fabric enhancers cannot effectively be used. These drawbacks may be heightened in the future because less water and energy may be available to evenly distribute fabric enhancers due to increasingly stringent water and energy restrictions.
Accordingly, a need exists for systems, components, and methodologies that more uniformly dispense treating chemistries onto fabrics within laundry appliances.